His Last Chance at Redemption (17 page)

Leo groaned. ‘Angel, that’s unheard of for me. But I can see you’re having trouble believing that and I’m sorry for my contribution in making you feel that way. Whatever that jerk said to you, I can guarantee he was speaking of his own inadequacies, not yours. This morning I was an ass and … Angel, you take my breath away. I thought that was obvious.’

His voice resounded with raw emotion and Lexi felt years of angst and uncertainty fade into the atmosphere. ‘Not to me,’ she said huskily.

Leo made a growling sound low in his throat and a thrill of excitement shot through her blood. ‘Then it’s time I did something about that.’

He drew her slowly back into his arms and tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him. ‘I want to make love with you, Lexi. I want to pleasure you and banish whatever negative
memories your first lover erroneously planted in your beautiful head once and for all.’ He swallowed heavily. ‘Tell me you want that too.’

Lexi’s breath caught and she stared at him. Emotions bubbled up inside her and her mouth went dry. How did someone resist an invitation like that, knowing what was likely to happen next?

They couldn’t.

At least she couldn’t. Maybe it was time to stop thinking so hard about the future and to just live in the present. She knew he still had secrets but she wasn’t looking to marry the guy. This was just … well, she didn’t know what this was other than another night in the arms of a man who made her feel fantastic about herself.

Banishing her doubts and deciding to take a chance, she raised her eyes to his. ‘Yes.’

He expelled a rough breath as she placed her hand in his and let him lead her to the corner of the deck to a white sofa, wide enough to encompass ten people with room to spare. He moved back from her and leaned against the side of the boat, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes enigmatic in the light cast by the moon and a few well-spaced down lights. ‘Take off your blouse.’

Lexi stood before him and let out a ragged breath of her own, self-doubt tightening her throat. But then she saw the fierce hunger shining in his eyes and it just seemed to melt away. It was time to reclaim her femininity and she realised that was what Leo was helping her to do.

And rather than feeling inadequate, she felt excited. Sensual. Thrilled.

Lexi stepped back and held Leo’s gaze as her fumbling fingers worked the buttons down the centre of her blouse. When she was done, she slowly shrugged out of it and goose bumps rose up over her skin as Leo’s gaze dropped to her breasts. The night was cool, but she knew her nipples were
pointed because of the way this man was looking at her more than the temperature of the air.

‘Now the bra.’ His voice was thick and as slumberous as his eyelids.

Lexi reached behind her and unhooked her bra. She crossed one arm over her breasts and let one strap fall to her elbows and then the other before cupping her hands over both breasts, feeling even more empowered as she saw his nostrils flare. She held her hands in front of her like some practised courtesan and his eyes cut to hers. ‘Drop it.’ She held her breath and did as he asked, not sure what to do with her hands as he stared at her.

So
maybe not such a great courtesan after all …

He was so still as he looked his fill of her it was almost unnatural and, as if she’d done this a thousand times before, she arched her torso slightly in his direction in silent supplication. Last night she had worried that he would find her too small, now she felt as if she was without equal.

His eyes dropped to her legs. ‘Lose the skirt.’

Lexi’s lower body flooded with warmth at his rough command. She didn’t know how it was that he turned her on so completely but her body was ready for his, even though he hadn’t touched her yet—this striptease seducing her as much as it was him. Feeling sexually charged, she ignored her skirt and bent forward instead, hooking her fingers around the edge of her black silk knickers and, making sure that her skirt didn’t ride up, she let them slide to the floor. Then she slowly straightened, running her hands up her legs as she did so. Enjoying the way his breath hitched at her provocative movements.

She tilted her face up and studied the fierce intensity lighting his eyes, which looked almost black in the dim light. She didn’t think she’d ever wanted anything more than she wanted to make love with this man right now and she stepped forward into his personal space.

‘Your turn.’

She watched him take a deep shuddering breath and then he ripped his beautiful top up over his head, one of the seams tearing loudly in the still night.

‘You really need to have more respect for clothing,’ Lexi teased, releasing a shuddering breath as his hot hands reached out and spanned her waist. He tugged her forward one more step until there was barely a breath separating them and then his eyes connected with hers. ‘I’m not in the mood to be gentle.’

She trembled and her own hands rose to spread out over his impressive pectoral muscles, her gaze drinking in the bronzed perfection of his chest and the sexy line of fuzz that bisected his abdomen. ‘Neither am I,’ she said on a rushed breath.

Her words seemed to release him from some dream state because he groaned and pulled her roughly in to him, her breasts scraping pleasurably against the hair on his chest as he lifted her to his mouth. She let out a long, low sound as he found her peaked nipple and suckled her firmly, her arms winding around his neck to clasp his head.

‘Put your legs around my waist,’ he growled against her aching flesh.

She did as he asked and Leo bunched her short skirt higher, his fingers digging into the soft globes of her bottom. She was the most exciting woman he had ever known and he couldn’t get enough of her.

He delved into her wet heat and he nearly came apart in his jeans as she writhed against him and opened readily to his intimate touch.

‘
Bohze
, Lexi, you’re so wet.’

‘For you. Only for you,’ she murmured against the side of his neck.

Groaning, he laid her on the soft sofa behind them with one hand and released the zip on his jeans with the other. She
clung to him, her hands on his face, in his hair, her voice one soft continuous moan against his lips. He positioned himself at her entrance and was about to surge deep when her hands stopped their urgent exploration and he felt her stiffen.

‘Leo. Protection.’ Her voice was a breathless whisper close to his ear and it took him a moment to focus enough to digest what she had said.

Then he cursed. ‘Damn. Are you on the Pill?’

She shook her head and a lick of unease spiked in his brain when he realised just how close he was to losing control. He never trusted women with contraception.

Cursing again, he fumbled around in the sagging back pocket of his jeans for the condom he’d put there for just this purpose.

‘Hurry up, it’s getting cold down here.’

Leo smiled down at her. ‘Now we wouldn’t want that happening, would we?’ He sheathed himself and shifted between her splayed thighs and leaned over her. ‘Lie back,’ he ordered gruffly, running his hands over her creamy torso and tweaking her nipples as she reclined fully, her dark hair rippling on the pale cushions.

Leo held her gaze as he moved into position and then, unable to extend the anticipation any longer he pushed into her in one slow, powerful thrust.

She made a low keening sound and closed her eyes and so did he. She felt like heaven. Her body so tight. So slick. So soft.

‘Leo, oh, God.’ Her torso arched off the sofa as he plunged in and out and set up a fierce rhythm.

He felt his climax building too quickly and tried to contain it but for once he couldn’t. The erotic image of Lexi splayed out before him, her breathy moans of pleasure …

‘Lexi.’
It felt as if her name was wrenched from some place deep inside him. ‘Come for me, angel, I can’t …’ He grimaced, sweat beading his brow as he concentrated on giving
her pleasure and, just when he thought he couldn’t hold back any longer, he felt the telltale contractions as her orgasm hit and he let go in a rush, throwing his head back and practically baying to the moon in ecstasy.

It took forever to come back to earth and steady his heartbeat, the aftershocks of what they’d shared weakening his whole body till he could barely lift himself off her.

He rose up onto his elbow and looked down at her, spread out under him, sated, replete and as comatose as he felt, and he felt his chest constrict. Unnamed emotions rolled through him, seeking purchase, and he buried his face in the side of her neck, not wanting her to see just how much their lovemaking had affected him. Like last time, the instinct to flee gripped him and then her soft hands drifted over the sweat cooling on his back and he felt instantly calm. ‘I think I like it rough,’ she murmured, planting soft kisses along his hairline.

Bohze,
she slayed him. He slid his hands along the length of her torso until he reached her chin and then he turned her face towards his so that his mouth could capture hers. It was a sweet kiss, almost tender after the wild sex. She wrapped her arms around his neck with such gleeful abandon he felt the knot in his chest tighten and chose to ignore it. For tonight, anyway.

‘Still cold, angel
moy
?’

‘Mmm … cold? I feel like I just flew into the sun.’

‘The feeling is mutual, I assure you.’

He moved off her, dealt with the condom and pulled his jeans up to cover himself before scooping her up into his arms.

‘Where are we going?’

‘My bed. That was just the first course.’

‘Well, if you’re half as good as your chef, I can’t wait for the next five.’

‘You realise you just signed the man’s termination papers,’ he muttered half seriously.

She punched his arm lightly. ‘I did not.’

Leo very nearly stumbled; it felt so nice to actually have someone play with him like this and he realised that he felt happy. The only times he’d ever felt like this had been during those rare times when his mother had been happy and Sasha had been alive.

He knew Lexi Somers was dangerous. Unfortunately, she was also addictive and he was nowhere near finished with her yet.

But after a week he would be. He didn’t doubt that for a second.

‘S
TOP
hovering. Go join Ty in the pool.’

Lexi released her tense shoulders and scowled down at Leo’s bent head, which was still damp from where he’d been playing with Ty in the water earlier. ‘You’ve been looking at the proposal for half an hour. Haven’t you finished yet?’

‘You’re going to dent my ego, angel, if you think I can rewrite a whole business proposal in half an hour.’

Lexi’s face fell and she tried not to cringe. ‘Is it that bad?’

‘Relax. It’s not bad at all. In fact, if you should ever find yourself out of a job I’d hire you in a heartbeat.’

‘Really?’

‘I don’t say things I don’t mean. From what I can see you’ve done your homework and there’s a definite need in the market. But explain this.’ He pointed to a row of figures in a graph. ‘It looks like you’re charging less than your current business, which seems fine while you build up your clientele, but it never evens out. Even taking into account the different demographic of the new centre, it seems low.’

‘The people using the childcare centre can’t really afford to pay more and there’s a lack of government funding in that zone, which would normally subsidise our income and which we’re hoping will change some way down the track.’

‘You can’t run a business on hope and if you’re not careful you’ll have to prop up this centre with your first, which will jeopardise both.’

‘I know, but if we put our prices up it defeats the purpose of what we’re offering.’

‘Can you cut back on staff?’

Lexi shook her head. ‘I won’t compromise quality of care for economic gain.’

Leo sighed. ‘I always knew you were a soft touch—I just didn’t realise how soft.’

Lexi glanced over at Ty and Carolina, splashing each other in the pool. They had all been playing similarly an hour earlier and Lexi’s heart still felt light at the memory of Leo interacting with his son. He still hadn’t told Ty he was his father and Lexi wondered when he intended to do that, but she had no doubt he would. Not that she should be thinking about that when she should be focused on work.

‘Is it so hopeless, then?’ she said, turning her mind back to business and trying to keep the despondency out of her voice.

Leo glanced at her, his eyes lingering on her mouth for so long she thought he might kiss her and her body started to tingle. Last night had been even more phenomenal than the first and now, even when she thought of Brandon, she couldn’t conjure up one ounce of insecurity.

‘You keep looking at me like that, I’ll drag you back to my lair and not let you out all day,’ he growled softly.

Her
look at him!

Lexi’s eyes lifted from his mouth and the world receded. Then Ty squealed and the world returned with a thud.

‘Right.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Pull up a seat. You need a contingency plan.’

Lexi sat down and for the next hour became more and more overawed as he took her through one cost-saving idea after another.

‘Wow, I’m impressed. If I was a bank, I’d lend you a million dollars.’

His smile was wolfish. ‘How do you think I bought my first scaffolding company?’

‘Why scaffolding?’

‘Honestly, I wanted to avenge my uncle by closing down the company that had been responsible for his senseless death. Then one night, after I got into yet another fight I was sitting in the hospital waiting room nursing a broken nose when the richest man in Russia came on the news. There was something about the way he stood and the way others treated him … I wanted to be him. So I changed tack. Bought the company, sacked the incompetent management team and the rest, as they say, is history.’

‘How old were you?’

‘Eighteen.’

‘Eighteen!’ She frowned. ‘So you never went to university either?’

Leo looked up from the laptop and realised what he’d just said. He couldn’t remember ever suffering from a loose tongue before but, ever since he’d told her his ‘charming’ childhood story, he could feel that he had become less guarded around her. Which wasn’t great because he didn’t want to slip up and tell her about Sasha and the selfish part he had played in his death.